Protests in Libya Curb More Oil Output

Production shut downs at Libya’s oil fields have been extended to Sharara, and likely the 108 oil field, after protests that started on Thursday against the abduction of a former finance minister halted output at the El- Feel field, a tribal leader told Reuters.

• It is a protest by the Al-Zawi tribe against the kidnapping of Faraj Bumatari, a former finance minister, according to the tribal leader.
• The protesters released a video statement from the 108 oil field, which is also likely to be affected by the protest, saying while they closed a valve: "We affirm the continuation of the oil closures, and we may escalate the situation to more than that if our son, Faraj Bumatari, is not released."
• No protesters have entered the 300kbpd Sharara oilfield so far, two engineers working in the field told Reuters on Thursday. The Sharara deposit in the southwest of the country will gradually halt production, according to a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday evening.
• The first field to shut down on protest was the El Feel field, has a capacity of 70kbpd,
• Libya’s crude production stood at around 1.15mbpd in recent months.